Technology Commentary

Apple once held up OpenDoc as a key reason its Macintosh operating system was better than Windows. Some developers mourn its looming fate.

OpenDoc was a component-based framework standard for compound documents, inspired by (and intended as an alternative to) Microsoft's Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) technology. OpenDoc was initially created by Apple Computer in 1992 after Microsoft approached Apple asking for input on a proposed OLE II project. Apple reviewed the crude prototype and document and returned a list of problems they saw with the design. Microsoft wasn't interested in the feedback so Apple decided for competitive r

OpenDoc is a defunct multi-platform software componentry framework standard created by Apple in the 1990s for compound documents, intended as an alternative to Microsoft's proprietary Object Linking and Embedding (OLE). It is one of Apple's earliest experiments with open standards and collaborative development methods with other companies. OpenDoc development was transferred to the non-profit Component Integration Laboratories, Inc., owned by a growing team of major corporate backers and effectively starting an industry consortium. In 1992, the AIM alliance was launched by Apple, IBM, and Motorola, with OpenDoc as a foundation. With the return of Steve Jobs to Apple, OpenDoc was discontinued in March 1997.

@levie on X : “This chart proves that sometimes you can just go fix previously intractable problems, like the cost of going into space. Many more things we can do this for.” Notable Numbers YouMail…

I am still on a break from public life, but I understand some number of people were concerned that someone was building a foundation to impersonate me, and I wanted to verify that those accounts ar…

Bluesky's CTO was an early developer on Scuttlebutt, a P2P protocol that aimed to help us escape the rat race of mainstream social media.

Next Generation Minecraft Proxy

Discrepancies in how browsers and libraries handle HTTP cookies, and the problems caused by such things.

Over the summer, I hit an anniversary of sorts: I’ve been blogging for two decades (!). For reasons I’ll get to, I’ve been reflecting back on my history of writing in general and blogging in particular. In 2004, blogging wasn’t exactly new (it had been around in one form or another for as long as a decade), but it also wasn’t something that I was actively engaged in. And while there was some blogging infrastructure at Sun, it was desultory and oriented around Java. Similarly, while there were also vectors for engineers to directly engage with customers, they were limited to proprietary forums, with very specific topics (e.g., support issues) and generally inaccessible and undiscoverable. All of that changed in the spring, when Sun rolled out a new policy on discourse and then – a few months later – blogs.sun.com. As Tim Bray retold, the disposition with respect to blogging was purposeful: employees weren’t merely allowed to blog, they were actively encouraged to do so – and provided all of the infrastructure to make it easy. The message was clear, and it was explicit: “We trust you.”

The alienation of WordPress contributors started a long time ago and culminated with the latest drama.

This article sums up what I've learned that should've been common sense...

A rebuttal to critics of API key authentication. We think that API keys are the best way to secure your API for these reasons.

A good programmer is someone who can write large programs that have a high probability of being correct.

Welcome to The Debrief with Mat Honan, your weekly take on the tech news that really matters, links to stories we love, and the occasional recommendation.

In the MIT Technology Review, Mat Honan makes two points about changes in the world of social media with both Bluesky and Threads

Purpose-built vector databases outperform dual-system setups by unifying the Sparse-BM25 algorithm and semantic search in a single, efficient operation.

The creator of the original open source definition proposes "Post Open" as a new way of supporting creators, maintainers and their projects.

This brief guide will break down why it's essential to upskill your developer teams for a GenAI future – and how you can get started today.

Silicon Valley has always been deeply integrated with Asia; Trump’s attempt to change trade could hurt Silicon Valley more than expected, and also present opportunities to build something new…

Microsoft and GitHub are committed to empowering developers around the world to innovate, collaborate, and create solutions that’ll shape the next generation of technology.

For someone programming in a high-level language like Python, or even for people who interact primarily with their operating system and the software running on it, it can seem like the computer har…

AI-driven testing can ease the burden of UAT by automating user experience assessments.

You must address challenges such as data consistency, load balancing and cost management to successfully scale your cache architecture.